trusting Jesus

Upside Down

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In the first century, a handful of believers devoutly followed Christ. With the power of the Holy Spirit, this group of believers turned the world upside down. Their numbers grew, and with miraculous multiplication powers, they overcame all obstacles and infiltrated the world.

With a crescendo of Godly power, Christianity molded and shaped civilization. An honest study of history reveals that hospitals, orphanages, and all forms of charitable organizations are rooted in Christian ideals. You will find also that the legal structure of every civilized nation in the world is solidly based on the laws of God that were fulfilled in Christ.

But now we have come full circle. The influence of Christianity has evaporated. Once the worship of God brought about civility, now individual rights have been idolized and crudity reigns supreme. In the days of Christian influence, personal responsibility was admired, but now things of God are considered old-fashioned. No one is held accountable for their actions and personal irresponsibility is treated as a virtue. In this post-Christian world, the Robin Hood syndrome has become a perverted way of robbing from the hard workers and rewarding the lazy and undeserving.

In this era of social Christianity, we have surrendered our ability to impact the world. Instead of the church influencing the world, the world has infiltrated the church. Once upon a time, Godly men turned the world upside down. Now we are afraid to speak the truth because we might offend someone. For the sake of political correctness, we now call wrong right and accept the unacceptable. Once we bore the marks of Christ and had a preservative effect on the world. Now we have turned our eyes from Jesus and the marks we bear are the footprints of the world. Like salt that has lost its saltiness, we are fit only to be walked on.

What many in this world call progress, is actually the destruction of society. We are going the way of Rome, Greece and Babylon. Like these ancient civilizations we idolize gratuitous sex and we worship personal pleasure. And now we are in danger of disappearing into a haze of lunacy.

But it does not have to be this way. God’s children, the crème of His power and mercy can rise to the top again. We must humble ourselves, and in prayer turn from our wicked ways. If we do this, He has promised that He will hear our prayers. He is God and He keeps His promises. The question is will we humbly turn to Him in prayer? Will we do our part? We have to, for the sake of our grandchildren, we just have to.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

The Bible Is Always Right

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The Word of God is always right. It is always right about everything. You may have an incredible IQ or you may be abundantly ignorant, however, if you say, ” I know what the Bible says but this is what I think.” Be assured of this. God does not care what you think. If you disagree with God you are wrong and He is right. Always.

The Word of God is never wrong. Maybe your circumstances have led you to think you can disregard His teaching, but you are wrong. Perhaps your situation causes you to feel as if His commandments don’t apply to your life. If so, you need to know that your feelings are wrong. Understand this. His ways are higher than your ways and His thoughts are higher than your thoughts. If you disagree with the Word of God, you are wrong and He is right.

God is never wrong! Never!

The Word of God is righteous. Some people have issues with the things the Bible teaches. Their perception of God is that He is cold and heartless. But they don’t know that God is omnipotent or that He transcends time. He was in the beginning and He is in the future. God has seen the actions of men in the past and knows the results of these actions in the future.

Do not trust your own understanding, but take joy in the Lord’s instructions. Meditate on His Word day and night and you will find that His Word is always righteous. Always.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Email- pavementendsministry@gmail.com

No Other Name Than Jesus

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Jesus is my Savior. When I was a nine-year-old boy, I reached out my hand to Him and trusted Him with my life. I didn’t understand a lot about Him. But that was ok because He understood everything about me. My faith in Him was not misplaced. He has never failed me. I have many good friends and loved ones whom I can trust with things of this world, but for my eternal hope, I will trust in no other name than Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. No one can ever make their way to heaven except through Him. He is the only begotten Son of God. He came to do the will of His Father. It is the will of God that no one should be lost but that all should have eternal life. When the religious leaders instructed Peter not to preach in the name of Jesus, Peter said, “I think I will listen to God and not you.” Then Peter preached with the authority of God that there is no other name by which we might be saved than the name of Jesus.

If you trust Jesus, you will find in Him everything you need. When your life seems to be as dark as night, He is the Bright Morning Star. If your world seems to be crumbling around you, He is the Rock on which you can stand. If you feel lonely, you can know that He will always be there. His righteousness will wipe away your sin. If you are prone to wander in darkness, He is the Good Shepherd and the Light of Life.

Have you trusted Jesus and Jesus only for eternal salvation? I have heard His voice and I can tell you without a doubt that He, and He alone, can save your soul. Many things and people want to be a god to you. But Jesus is the only God who died to wipe away your sins. He rose from the dead to reveal that He alone can give you eternal life. In Christ alone, can you find Salvation? There is no other authority under Heaven by which you might be saved. No other name but JESUS.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

email- pavementendsministry@gmail.com

Faith of a Blue Jay

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It was a cold day in February. I sat at my breakfast table and watched a couple of blue jays build a nest in a tree in my yard. As I watched it occurred to me that these birds were exercising great faith.

This devotion is an audio podcast. Click the link below and listen as I tell about what a couple of blue jays taught me about faith.

https://podpoint.com/pavement-ends-ministry/a-blue-jays-faith?fbclid=IwAR1pQTxXpsLs4AmW5AQvRdbXBTFyI6pQtx414mJCKdtOBK7X2P99oxTEy14#

It Didn’t Cost God Anything

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When I consider the remarkable world that I live in I am amazed by this one fact, it did not cost God anything to create it. His power and might are such that the efforts of creation were nothing to him. The words that He spoke to bring the light from darkness did not leave Him with any fewer words. The breath that He breathed to give life to man did not leave Him with any less breath. He is limitless. And in His omnipotence, there will never be less of God than there has ever been.

No, there was no expense at all for God when He flooded the whole world or gave Sarah a baby. It did not affect His budget in the least when He parted the Red Sea or knocked down the walls of Jericho. His bank account did not shrink at all when He made deposits of courage in the heart of a giant fighting shepherd boy or an evil queen-fighting prophet. It does not matter what God does, He has never been broke or tired or diminished by His expenditures.

When I consider the tremendous future I have in God’s Kingdom, I am struck by this one fact. It cost God everything to purchase my salvation. The Ten Commandments He gave to guide me were not enough to save me. The prophets He sent to teach me could not impart eternal life. And the words that He spoke to shine light into my darkness could not brighten my way. To save me God had to give all.

So He did. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Your value, my value to Him is so much that He gave His all, His very Son, His very self to purchase your pardon, to redeem you from certain death. His love for you cost Him everything. Please don’t waste His tremendous extravagance. Give your all to Him, because He gave His Son for you.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

email-pavementendsministry@gmail.com

The Cost of My Salvation

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When I consider the tremendous future I have in God’s Kingdom, I am struck by this one fact. It cost God everything to purchase my salvation.

This devotion is an audio podcast. Click the link below to listen.

https://podpoint.com/pavement-ends-ministry/the-cost-of-my-salvation?fbclid=IwAR0CvjA3pWhqi7Inrn1wD3gHCChsdW5hB_whe6-Wya081T3CdlF7N0cccFI#

When Two Hands Are Not Enough

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A Third Hand

I have just finished putting a small addition on my shop. As I worked, I found the most time was consumed in trying to figure out how to have a third hand. You see I was working by myself. Many times, I needed one hand to hold the board, one hand to hold a nail and a third hand to swing the hammer. If you have a helper, you work together. But if you are by yourself, you have to invent a way to do it.

Now that was a simple construction project. I was able to work these issues out. After all, God gave me a brain and I have a degree in engineering from the Indian Hill School of Hard Knocks.

But what if it is not a simple building project. Sometimes life throws serious trials at us. Often, we find ourselves in a battle with severe spiritual issues. This is not the time to be hardheaded and try to find a way to fix the problem yourself. If you do, you will be overcome by trials and lose the spiritual battle. In Proverbs we read that there is a way that seems right to man, but man’s way always ends badly.

In this life, there will be many times when you wish you had a third hand. For this reason, always make sure that your life is in the Hands of God. It is with an unwavering confidence that you can trust Him and know He will help you. He has promised to open His hands and satisfy all your needs. And He has sent the Holy Spirit to be a Helper in all our circumstances.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Email-pavementendsministry@gmail.com

Thorns

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            The Apostle Paul was the greatest preacher ever. His obedience and sacrificial service to Jesus is something that we should all imitate. There is no doubt that when he was beheaded for his Savior the next thing, he heard was his Heavenly Father saying, “Well done My good and faithful servant.”

            Yes, Paul was a great man of God. And yet he suffered from what he called, “a thorn in the flesh.” What was this “thorn in the flesh”?  No one knows. It could have been an illness, a deformity, blindness or anything that affected his physical body. 

            There is one thing that I have never heard anyone else suggest. Maybe Paul’s thorn in the flesh was an addiction. Maybe he was addicted to alcohol or drugs or food or even porn. Some people would say; “Paul could not have had an addiction because he was a Godly man.” Yes, he was a Godly man but he was not a perfect man, He had faults and his faults made him feel like he was ” the chief of sinners”.  God does not use perfect people; He uses broken people. Especially those with thorns in their flesh.

            The Bible does not answer every question, and that is a good thing. It is a fact that all Christians struggle with sin, even the Godliest among us. All of us have a thorn in the flesh of some kind. We do not know what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was. But we do know that God’s grace was sufficient for Paul and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

            The blessing of the Bible not giving us all the answers is this; not knowing what Paul suffered, we can identify with him in our suffering. When we feel wretched and wonder who will deliver us from this body of death, we can thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord. Because God’s grace was sufficient for Paul’s thorn in the flesh and it is still sufficient for yours.

Douglas Huff 

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

WOW! God Loves Me!

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“I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean.” This is a line from one of my favorite old hymns. Like the writer of this old song I am in awe of the fact that the God of all creation loves me.

This morning as I sit in my study there is a fly buzzing around, and I am determined to hunt it down and swat it. As I think about my place in the history of this earth I know that life is but a vapor. Along with all the billions of people that have lived here before me, I know that I and that fly will soon be nothing but dust. The Word of God tells us this, it says, “from dust you were taken and to dust you will return”.

It is true that your body will return to dust. I know that sounds depressing. But understand this; there is a great and awesome God who is mindful of your soul. You are nothing but a tiny speck of dust on this earth and yet the God of all creation has set His great heart on you. You are the crowning jewel of His creation and He loves you.

It is because of His love for you that He sent Jesus, His only begotten Son as an atoning sacrifice. Jesus the Son of God was crucified for your sins. He died, was buried and rose again so that you can receive forgiveness. In the grand scheme of things, on this earth your life is but a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. But if you believe in Jesus and trust Him with this tiny speck of dust that is your life, then you can live forever in Heaven in the presence of God .

That is why I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus my Savior, who took no thoughts for His own life but He shed drops of blood for mine.

Douglas Huff & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

The Ten Commandments of Marriage

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There are three Great Institutions of God. On the day of Pentecost, He instituted the Church. In the book of Exodus He instituted government. But the most important is found in Genesis Chapter two. Here God instituted the Family. The family was, is, and always will be the foundation for all of civilized society. God’s plan was, is, and always will be that marriage is one man and one woman for life. So using The Ten Commandments as my guide I have developed what I call, “The Ten Commandments of Marriage.

1. You shall have no other person before your Husband or Wife

No other human being should come between you and your mate. Your mate must always be the most important person in the world to you.

2. You shall not put anything before your husband or wife.

Your mate must be the top priority in your life they must come before your house, car, pleasure, money or fame, and anything else.

3. You shall not take your spouse’s name in vain

You must honor your spouse and seek to put each other first above all others. You must not dishonor each other’s name, person, desires, or dreams. And you must not belittle find fault or criticize. Instead, you must seek out ways to encourage your spouse.

4. Set time apart for one another religiously.

Your spouse and children are worthy of your undivided attention.

5. Honor not only your father and mother but also your father-in-law and mother-in-law.

When you are married you become part of another family. Honor your spouse’s mother and father as if they are your own.

6. You shall not destroy the spirit within your spouse.

Careless and hateful words wound severely the ones who love us the most.

7. “You shall not commit adultery.

The person to whom you are married is your helpmate, your friend, and your lover.

Guard your heart, your eyes, and your body they belong to and are for only your spouse.

8. You must not take from your spouse their dignity and self-worth.

And never take from your spouse what they are unwilling to give. Never take from your husband or wife the privilege of giving gifts and always receive with gratitude the gifts that they bring to you.

9. You shall not bear false witness to each other.

Always be honest with each other.

10. You must not seek greener pastures either physical or material.

Be content with that which God has given you. God will bless your lives together.

There is strange math involved in a Good and Godly marriage. When two people are married the two become one. If the two who have become one will join hands with Jesus then the two will become three. The Bible teaches that a cord of three strands will not be easily broken. If you will keep the Ten Commandments of Marriage, God will sanctify and bless your home, filling it with love and joy.

Douglas Huff

Down Where The Pavement Ends

Email-pavementendsminustry@gmail.com